All Forum Posts by: Dev Horn

No, but apparently it allows you to do real estate investing while sitting on a beach.  Hard work is for losers, bro.

Hey guys - we like to figure out what makes people tick.  Why do people do the things they do?  What do they need and want?  What makes them happy?

As a result, we recently put out two great videos that are excellent studies in the psychology of the buyer and seller relationship.

PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESSFUL INVESTORS - https://youtu.be/c-0DdRnz-s0

PSYCHOLOGY OF THE HAPPY HOME SELLER - https://youtu.be/et_CTzJMNzo

We hope you enjoy these free videos!

Would you like to know more about becoming the exclusive We Buy Houses® business in your market?

Call us at 1-877-998-5997 or CLICK HERE.

WeBuyHouses.com - The Easy Way to Sell Today™

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We Buy Houses® and WeBuyHouses.com® are registered trademarks of WBH Marketing, Inc.

Copyright © 2018

Hey BP friends!

We just finished a 3-part video series on WINNING WITH WHOLESALING which we shared on YouTube, Facebook, and via our weekly show "Marketing Monday" - and I want to share it here with you to make sure you have a chance to see these videos.

With all the so-called "gurus" out there trying to reel you into their paid courses, we wanted to give the community the REAL STORY of wholesaling and we have no other course or education to sell to you.  There is no INVESTOR BUS TOUR for $25K at the end of some long sales process here - just some great info that we offer for FREE.

We hope you enjoy this series and of course - if you are ever looking for a professional real estate investing program - we hope that you will consider joining the team at We Buy Houses® (http://join.webuyhouses.com).

WINNING WITH WHOLESALING Video Series
Topics: We discuss the challenges, opportunities, and winning strategies for "wholesaling" residential real estate.

Watch > 

In Part 1 we discuss what wholesaling is and how it's done, plus the key challenges and opportunities for wholesalers.

Watch > 

In Part 2, we discuss how to know what to offer for the home to get the deal AND make it attractive to cash buyers.

Watch > 

In Part 3, we talk about the best ways to build relationships with cash buyers and how to present your deals to them.

DID YOU KNOW WE'VE PROVIDED "WHOLESALING" TRAINING TO OVER 1,000 BP MEMBERS ALREADY?
Want to learn more?  Just send me (Dev Horn) a Colleague Request and I'll send you our complete 2-hour WHOLESALE ACCELERATOR video course (with sample contracts) for FREE.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WE BUY HOUSES® BRAND & BUSINESS SYSTEM for PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE INVESTORS?  Call us at 1-877-998-5997 or visit join.WeBuyHouses.com

LEGAL STUFF:

We Buy Houses® and WeBuyHouses.com® are registered trademarks of WBH Marketing, Inc.
Copyright © 2018 - All Rights Reserved; Unauthorized duplication or distribution prohibited.
Video education offered herein is provided at no cost for the purposes of education and entertainment.  While we try to offer on the most accurate and highest quality information, there are no warranties or guarantees implied in regard to the information provided.  You participate in real estate transactions at your own risk and you should consult with an attorney and/or your state real estate regulatory board before using any information or documentation obtained via these (or any) educational videos or materials.

In a competitive market (as we have today), real estate investors typically buy distressed property for what it is WORTH in its current condition.  If you buy a house that has not been updated since 1978, has foundation issues, and a bad roof, you're not paying "far less than what it's worth" if you pay a price that allows you to (a) purchase the property - which ties up your capital, (b) make $30,000 of improvements - which ties up more capital, and (c) ultimately sell it at a retail price so you can make maybe a 10% net after the smoke clears.  The people that think this business is about giving people "less than their house is worth" are likely not real estate investors at all, because those of us that do this know we're in a very competitive stage of the RE market and no one is giving their house away.  If you are someone that tries to trick seniors into a bad deal, that is not real estate investing - that's just trying to screw people.  We most often see that with "wholesalers" who have no idea what houses are worth.  Actual cash buyers that do these renovations know that this is competitive business with tight margins and no "easy money" or idiots giving their houses away.  If you take advantage of someone, you need to own that - don't put that on the hard-working, honest, ethical investors who are trying to make a big while turning distressed properties into nice homes worthy of a retail price. YOU ONLY GET TO "ARV" IF SOMEONE DOES THE "R".

Hi Joe - good question! In general, marketing to owner occupants is a harder field to plow than marketing to absentee owners. As competition among local investors has increased over the past few years, we've seen response rates to direct mail decline in most larger markets. In addition, due to increases in property taxes, homeowners are well aware that the value of their home has increased, and that (plus the beloved Zestimates) has led some to expect even more than the home is worth. This combination of higher expectations by homeowners and higher competition among investors has led to a very tight market in many areas. So, REI marketing in general is much tougher than it was 1, 2, 3 years ago - regardless of which type of advertising you're doing. We still prefer to go first after absentee owners before owner occupants (OOs), and we still prefer senior OOs compared to non-seniors. You might find a good intersection in absentee owners over 60 years old with a length of ownership over 15 years. All that said, we see direct mail still performing in all but the most overheated markets, but the marketing cost per deal has risen substantially in the past couple of years.

We tried Rebogateway (several years ago & more recently - have a current sub to it) and and we were really hopeful about their new Investor Title Toolbox which marries the Listsource equity data together with the rebo property data from the counties.  Unfortunately, it's not a great interface and at least in our trial uses in TN, CA, and WA we just didn't see much response from mailing to that list (compared to what we get with absentee data from Listsource alone).

We see that direct mail effectiveness varies greatly by market type and size.  Response rates to absentee or other direct mail in CA is lower than ever, but it still works very well in central TX, AL, and TN.

It remains an important component of our marketing strategy, but it is not as central a role as it have 4-5 years ago when we were talking about this.  AdWords is #1 for us but it is not good for BRANDING.  So we use some combination of TV, direct mail, outdoor, and Facebook advertising to promote the brand in the local market.  So if the postcard response is lower, it still plays a role in getting people to know we exist.

Even if you're new to investing, endeavor to create a brand for yourself that people can remember and come back to later.  Then use direct mail as one way to (a) get some leads from a few and (b) build your brand awareness with everyone else in your target list.

We Buy Houses® 2018 Housing Market Report

ABSTRACT:

For the We Buy Houses® 2018 Housing Report, we asked 41 of our local real estate experts in 33 markets around the country about their sentiment regarding their local housing market for the coming year. Specifically, we asked 5 questions:

1) In 2018, will it be a SELLER’S or BUYER’S MARKET (or EVEN) in your area?
2) HOME PRICES – going up, down or about the same as 2017?
3) INVENTORY OF EXISTING HOMES FOR SALE – going up, down or about the same?
4) CONTRACTOR COST (LABOR) – going up, down or about the same?
5) MATERIAL COST – going up, down or about the same?

NATIONAL Summary:

According to the local market real estate experts at We Buy Houses®, 2018 will continue to be a “Seller’s Market” in over 70% of suburban markets in the U.S., with slightly less than 10% predicting that it will a “Buyer’s Market” next year.

Home prices are expected to rise again in over 60% of U.S. markets, and expected to stay about the same in over 34%. Our experts expect there to be lower inventory in over 31% of local markets, with inventory increasing in only about 22% of markets next year.

Regarding the costs for renovation, We Buy Houses® local market representatives expect the cost of contractors (labor) to rise in 48% of markets and stay about the same in another 48% of our areas, leaving only a few percent of our markets in which cost of labor is expected to decrease. The cost of materials is expected to rise again in 49% of U.S. markets and stay about the same as last year in the other 51%. There were norespondents that expect material costs to decrease next year.

Conclusion: It’s a Seller’s Market again for most local markets in 2018. We Buy Houses® expects home prices to rise 4% to 8% in major suburban markets in 2018, with a median increase of 5.5% We expect the median price of homes to rise from $248,000 in December 2017 to $262,000 by the end of this year.

REGIONAL Summaries:

We Buy Houses® local market experts in the northeastern U.S. expect a Seller’s Market again with along with rising prices, with all other factors (housing inventory, cost of labor, cost of materials) being about the same as 2017. The “HOTTEST” We Buy Houses® market in the Northeast in 2018 is expected to be Washington, D.C.

In the southeastern markets, we expect a Seller’s Market with rising home prices and increasing cost of materials. Inventory will remain tight and cost of labor will be about the same as 2017. The Florida area was hit by hurricane Irma in 2017, which has contributed to an increase in material costs at the onset of 2018. The “HOTTEST” We Buy Houses® market in the Southeast in 2018 is expected to be Charlotte, N.C.

The southern region of the U.S. is likely the “hottest” of the four regions identified by We Buy Houses® and it will be a Seller’s Market in 2018. Our local market experts are expecting home prices to rise along with the cost of labor and materials, in part due to the residual effects of Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Inventory is expected to remain about the same as 2017, a year in which housing inventory in the South was very tight. The “HOTTEST” We Buy Houses® market in the South in 2018 is expected to be Memphis, TN. (However, Waco, TX emerged as one of the most attractive and productive markets in the We Buy Houses® system in 2017, perhaps due to the popularity the area has received from the HGTV show “Fixer Upper”).

The western U.S. is the most competitive region for our professional real estate investors and it will definitely be a Seller’s Market again in 2018. Prices in prime suburban markets in the west – such as San Diego, CA and Colorado Springs, CO – will continue to rise in 2018 as inventories remain very constrained. We expect the cost of labor and materials to be about the same as in 2017. The “HOTTEST” We Buy Houses® market in the West in 2018 is expected to be Seattle, WA.

WATCH: We Buy Houses® 2018 Housing Market Report on YouTube

READ: We Buy Houses® 2018 Housing Market Report (Expanded, with local market infographics & expert commentary)

PRESS: Our CEO, VP of Marketing, and local market experts are available for interviews, and high-resolution head shots are available as well.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact We Buy Houses® at [email protected] or

It's no BiggerPockets, that's for sure.  I've always found CI very difficult to use, although it looks like they have modernized the site in recent months.  BP has always provided a lot more value because it's a real community that is well organized and  well moderated.

 In Listsource, Current Home Value may be treated as a premium filter, meaning they may charge you extra to use it.  Total Assessed Value is straight from the county and is a "free" filter on Listsource.  That's the main reason we've always used it...